Differences
by bethviolet
Summary: For most teenagers, being told they're moving is the worst thing in the world. Well, Bella Swan knows worse. Emigrating. Forget Phoenix to Forks, this is Northern England to Forks. ON TEMP HIATUS


**Differences.**

**A/N: I know! Another new story. I really suck, but this idea's been in my head forever and it just won't let me write my other stories before I get this going.**

**PLEASE READ! Okay, first of all Bella is going to be based on me and my life. She'll be living where I live except I'm gonna make up a new name instead of use the real town I live in. Another thing is Bella will be an only child where as I have two siblings, but that'll be the only real differences, besides the fact I have not moved to Forks. Also, I'm not going to make her cliché British, and some of you may doubt that for example if I have her saying 'Bloody Hell' but believe it or not, that's an extremely common phrase here, especially the area I live in. I'm not gonna play on her Englishness and ram it down your throat, I'm just going to make her how we actually are and how I talk and not curb the words Bella uses to make it sound likes she's from America. **

**I hope you learn something from this, and realise all the differences in our cultures. **

**If I use any words that your not familiar with them please ask me, I'll be happy to explain.**

**Oh! and before anyone asks...no, I'm not from NewCastle. **

**Chapter 1**

"...and then he told me, that he'd got a new mobile and lost my number and that's why he didn't call me" she rolled her eyes, always the drama queen "so I said to him, I said 'well don't think I give second chances. Your not getting my number again"

"But I thought you liked him?" I asked, fiddling with the bangles I had around my wrists. I wasn't really paying that much attention to my best friend Daisy, but to be fair she has boy drama almost every Monday morning, and I have to sit and listen to it, during our combined free period. Let me tell you, if she hadn't found me walking out of my lesson I would be at home, watching daytime telly, until my next lesson this afternoon.

I'm 17, and not knowing what I want to do in life, after school I decided to go to sixth form college. Luckily for me, the college I wanted to go to, was literally down the road from our house. Meaning I was able to stay in bed literally until twenty minutes before my lessons started.

I lived in Maple-town, a tiny little town in the north east of England, you'd probably miss it if you were looking at a map, that's if it was even shown on a map. The town may be small but it's bathed in history, and honestly I wouldn't like to live anywhere else. Living in the north of England, things are different from the south. Here, people say it how it is, no faffing around. Things don't seem to bother us and we can deal with things easily. Here we can call our mother mum or mam and it doesn't matter. Things are just...different.

"I do like him" she whined into her Styrofoam cup of tea. "but he's gonna have to work for it." now she was fiddling with her long blonde hair.

"maybe he really did lose your number" I reasoned.

"oh yeah? Well, if having my number was so important that he wouldn't have lost it now, would he? And besides he needs to grow up, making him work for me will do him good" she said with a definite nod.

"why does he need to grow up?" I asked before draining my own cup of tea.

"he's always hanging round his idiotic mates. He goes out every night, sits in the pub, drinking lager. I don't want a guy like that. I want one who's dependable and able to drop everything for me. Who's smart and..." I stopped listening I'd heard this speech more than enough times. I just smiled and nodded as she droned on and on.

I'd met Daisy at school. We've been best friends since year 7, when we both started at secondary school. We went to a Roman catholic school about twenty minutes away from Maple-town, and yes that meant we had the unfortunate problem of having to wear ugly uniforms. Ours wasn't so bad, a blue and white checked blouse, a navy blue skirt, tights and a blue blazer. I was just happy that the girls didn't have to wear a tie like the boys.

I hated school. Especially since my maths teacher use to pick on me every lesson. It's not my fault I caught her and Mr. Matthews shagging in the supply cupboard, when I'd been asked to go fetch some A3 paper. She should have been thanking me that I didn't tell the principle, not making me hate maths even more.

Anyway, let's just say when I turned 16, and finished my GCSE's I couldn't wait to leave all the rules and the strict learning that came with school and get the freedom that comes with college.

For us, school ends at the age of 16, you can then decide if you want to go into full time work or college. College lasts two years 16 – 18 in which you study for you A-Levels. After your A-Levels you then see if you've got the grades to get into your chosen University. I'm currently at the beginning of my second year, and am studying English, Philosophy, and health and social care. I'm thinking of going into teaching.

"Bella...are you even listening to me?" Daisy whined.

"huh? Erm...sorry I spaced out" Daisy huffed and rolled her eyes again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go have a mooch around town for a bit until my next lesson" Whereas I was free until after dinner, Daisy only had an hour free.

I scrunched up me nose, unable to resists. Maple-town had like...five good shops in it, the rest were charity shops or fast food places. "I've actually got some homework that I need to do before my next lesson" I lied. Sure I felt bad, but my head was banging with her insistent talking for the last forty minutes.

"oh...that's bad" she sympathised. I offered to stay with her for the last twenty minutes of her free period, but she told me she'd be fine and that she was just gonna go find some books she needed from the library.

I walked to two minute walk from college to my house and was surprised to find both of my parents cars in the driveway, along with mine. My mum worked part time at the primary school, and she only worked the Wednesday – Friday, so I knew she'd be home this Monday morning, but my Dad...not so much. He works as head of security for his huge corporation and let me tell you something. Since he got this job, we've been racking it in. He has to travel all over the country and is only really at home during the weekends.

I opened the door, and found my parents sat in the living room. The telly was off and they were talking intently.

"Dad!" I know you may think it may be a over reaction to seeing my Father, but when I've hardly seen him, having any time with him, I get a little overly excited. What can I say? I'm a complete Daddy's girl.

"Hey, Bella Boo" he said as he hugged me, before sitting back down on the settee with my mum.

"Bella, me and your Dad have something we need to talk to you about..." She was fidgeting and things didn't look good.

"what's going on? Is it Nanna? Is it her heart?" I panicked

"no,no! Nothing like that" Dad assured me, as I sat on the opposite settee to them.

"so what?" I still had that panicky feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know like a bad version of butterflies.

"well you know how your Father works away a lot?" I nodded because...well, I hated it.

"well he's been offered a new job. More money and he'll be home every night" I smiled at him, and I may have let out a squeal of excitement. The money wasn't that big of a deal to me, but seeing my Dad everyday would be great.

"that sounds great. Your gonna take it right, Dad?"

"well...yeah, but there's something erm that we need to tell you about"

"okay..." I made a gesture with my hand, as though I was asking him to elaborate.

"erm...well the new job isn't in maple-town or within an easily travelling distance"

Oh Shit.

"we're moving?" I yelled. We can't move.

"no baby. We're not moving exactly." my mum hedged.

Huh?" I wish they would just...ya know...spit it out.

"we're emigrating. To America."

"no" I shook my head "no way"

"Bella...things are already in motion. We're looking for a house and a few things are being shipped over. Your Dad's accepted that job. We're going"

"Okay...first of all, don't even get me started on how pissed I am that you've made all these _huge_ decisions without me" my mum didn't even say anything about my language "but I can't go. I'm at college, I'm gonna start applying for uni soon. I'm not going" my arms were crossed over my chest in defiance.

"Bella we're going. You'll study in America and go to University there, next year. We can't leave you and I really think you should stop being so selfish and be happy your Father got this amazing oppotunity." to say I was shocked at my mother's outburst would be an understatement. I wanted to yell and scream some more, but I was beginning to feel as though I was selfish. So I did the teenager thing, ran to my room, slammed my door loudly and cried.

I had no idea how long I'd been in my room when I timid knock was heard.

"sod off" I yelled from my position on my bed. Face down in my pillow.

"Bella, it's me" a muffled voice came from the other side of my door. I jumped off my bed, quickly wiped my face, opened my door and pulled Daisy in. She hugged me and I started crying all over again.

"Do you know?" I asked through my tears. We both sat down on my bed.

"yeah, your mum was worried, she called me. I'm so sorry Bell" For once in our friendship, the roles reversed and she said nothing as I sat and whined and complained.

All her boy nonsense seemed insignificant in comparison.

"Yeah but just think America's hot like...almost all the time"

"really?" I asked. I really had no idea about the weather there.

"yeah...I've been a few times and it's always boiling"

"oh well...I guess it would be nice to not have to live in all this rain any more" I shrugged.

"yeah...and you'll bump into celebrities all the time" she nodded, a big smile on her face.

"what?"

"oh yeah...there's loads of celebrities in America"

"I think that's only in Hollywood Daisy"

"no,they're all over the place I swear. I bet you end up living next door to one or something" she giggled.

I shook me head...she really is crazy. "I'm gonna miss you, Dais"

"I'm gonna miss you too. But we'll phone and I can come visit and make your neighbour Johnny Depp fall in love with me" she said 100% seriously, and I couldn't help laughing at her.

The place we ended up in was a town smaller than Maple-town. It was called Forks, and it was just as rainy as England. There were trees all over and I hated it.

Another thing my parents failed to mention to me until we were on the car ride from the airport to our new house in Forks was that kids in America stayed in school until they were 18. Which meant that I was going back to school. Needless to say that that car ride I gave them both the silent treatment.

So far I hate everything about being here. They drive on the wrong side of the road _and_ the wrong side of the car. Not to mention that they all drive automatics. Automatics are the most uncommon thing in the world to an English person. That's not driving...not real driving. And another thing, all they have is straight roads. No roundabouts or anything like that. The thing I love about driving is the challenges it imposes. There's no challenges here, unless you count the amounts of idiots on the road.

We've been here two days now. The house is nice, I suppose. It's a three bed and two bath that's nestled in a row of identical houses. Dad started his new job this morning and I have to start school tomorrow which I'm dreading. I phone Daisy every night, but the time difference makes it sometimes difficult to catch each other at a good time, not to mention how much an international phone call costs.

Another thing that annoyed me was people a.k.a our neighbours (Not Johnny Depp) thought we were Australian and the other side thought we were Irish. We're British, please get that.

Not only do I miss Daisy, but I miss my Nanna and my Gran and Granddad. And all my other friends and relatives. We literally know no one here. I've never felt so lonely before.

While my Dad was at work, my mum and I went to the closest supermarket. It was called 'wallmart' and was basically like Asda and Tesco rolled into one. Nothing was the same. They had a tiny section of food from England and I practically begged my mum to by a bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk chocolate bar. She hadn't said she missed England, but when she picked up some Yorkshire Tea bags and smiled before putting them in the trolly, I knew she did miss home.

There were a lot of difference in food alone here. For example they call Walkers, 'Lays' here. And instead of having little individual bags of crisps in those big bags, it's all loose crisps.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking more boxes and my room finally looked like a normal bedroom. It's bigger than the one at home, I have a double bed instead of a single and my parents had bought me all new furniture. I knew they were trying to butter my up but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy their guilt.

That night I went to bed early. I didn't sleep much, worrying about school. So when I woke the next day, I was unsurprised to fine ugly purple marks under my eyes. I had a shower and dried my hair, letting it hang down my back. I wasn't one for wearing a lot of make-up, but I did wear a bit, and I didn't want that to change. Once I'd finished in the bathroom, I stood in front of my wardrobe.

At home I wasn't seen as some huge fashionista but I knew what looked good on me. Are styles different here? Is fashion the same? Sighing to myself I pulled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a long sleeved dark blue tee and the orange scarf Daisy had given my for my birthday. She said the outfit looked good, and I trusted her.

I pulled on my brown boots and grabbed a hoodie in case it got cold. My mom was dressed and eating breakfast, she was dropping me off. I hated it, but unless I wanted to walk I was gonna hav to accept it. Dad offered to buy me a car to replace my car that was sold at home, but I didn't want an automatic, I wanted a...I'm pretty sure the guy at the dealership called it a stick-shift, and they're uncommon here. At home it's just known as car, but I'm gonna stop bitching about driving now.

Anyway, we ate in silence, and are soon in the car on the way there. My stomachs in knots, and I feel physically sick. So when we pull up to the building I was feeling even worse.

The school was smaller than the one I had attended, it had three hundred students in it. My year at school had two hundred in it alone, and I knew everyone in my year by their first names.

I jumped out of the car, hoping my mother wouldn't get all teary and tell me she loved me. I shuffled my way towards the main office, ignoring all the whispers and curious glances my way.

"hello?" the receptionist greeted in question, obviously not recognising me.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan -" I started but she cut me off.

"OH! Our international student. Everyone's so excited about your arrival. The principal just wants a word before you go to class. So just knock on that door over there" she pointed me in the direction,

The principle 'couldn't be happier' to have me, a 'real English person' attending his school. He explained that I would be joining the seniors, which was the last year of the school and because I am joining in November, I've missed two months of study and really need to catch up as soon as possible. He kept blabbing on about how great England was and I just smiled and nodded.

After half an hour he seemed to remember I needed to be in class, and jumped up. On the way he explained my time table, and pointed out my locker. He tried to explain the best routes to each of my classes on the map I'd been given, but it was lost on me.

He knocked on the door of my first class. Biology.

"Mr. Banner, class...I'm sure you've all heard about our new student starting, well this is Bella Swan." the class broke out into loud whispers as I walked into the room. My face was on fire as I tried to smile keeping my eyes downcast.

"ah! Our friend from across the pond!" Mr. Banner almost yelled "welcome welcome" okay so this guys a little strange.

"where exactly are you from Bella?" he asked

"erm...the north of England. In a small town called maple-town" I smiled at him

"Is that near London?" a busty blonde yelled from the back of the classroom.

I looked towards Mr. Banner but he just nodded for me to speak.

"erm...no, London's in the South" she did an elongated 'oh' before turning back towards her friend.

Mr. Banner clearly took pity on me "why don't you take a seat Bella? We're working on mitosis."

I looked around not spotting a spare seat.

"erm..." I started.

"oh!" he glanced around "there's a spare seat next to Edward in the back." he pointed to way in the back where a boy sat alone. I kept my eyes on the floor as I made my way over to the seat.

As I sat on the stool, it squeaked causing me to shudder. This Edward boy didn't seem to care though. I pulled a pad of paper out of my bag and a pen. Not only had I studied mitosis when I was 16 but my entire GCSE exam was on it.

"hi" a whisper brought my out of my retrieve. I turned towards to the whisperer and couldn't help but gasp at him. He was, without a doubt, the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on. A tuft of messy bronze hair, sharp defined jaw, intense green eyes.

"h-hi" I stuttered out. Smooth Swan...real smooth.

"I'm Edward. Edward Cullen" he smiled

"kinda like James?"

"huh?" his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

"you know, James. James Bond" I could help but laugh. Yes, I'm one of those annoying people who laugh at their own joke. Luckily for me, he laugh along too.

"I guess I could have done it smoother than that" he nodded, and I was slightly stunned.

"I'm Bella"

"I know everyone's been waiting for your arrival. You and your family are the talk of the town" he smiled.

"great" I sighed.

"great" he mimicked me, trying out a British accent, and I couldn't help but laugh at how bad it sounded.

"that bad?" he asked, I just nodded through my laughs. "oh well, I'll just have to work on it"

"yeah, I don't think that accents gonna get any better. Defiantly not if your trying to copy my accent, you should try a London accent." I suggested.

"no, I'll get yours" I nodded and I just rolled my eyes.

We were silent for the remainder of the lesson, but I could see him out of the corner of my eye, every couple of minutes his head would look at me, a beautiful smirk covering his plump lips.

Once the bell rang all the students stood up and started packing, some literally running for the door. This was another difference from my old school. If we so much as started packing up after the bell we'd hear the '_I_ dismiss you, not the bell' speech by the teacher.

"so, where's you next class?" he asked, he was stood with his backpack on, clearly waiting for me.

"erm...history" I answered, grabbing my timetable and showing him.

He nodded "I'll show you the way" he offered.

"you really don't have to. I'm sure I'll be able to find it" I said, even though every part of me was screaming to shut up.

"really, I want to" and so it was settled.

"so, how you liking Forks?"

"erm...well I was hoping for sun" I shrugged.

"For Washington? You'd be lucky" he chuckled

"we'll I'd never been here before. I had no idea and my best friend Daisy said America was hot so..." I shrugged again.

"well no offence to Daisy but that was kinda stupid"

"well I won't tell you what she said about celebrities then" I giggled. The smile that consumed his face at my laugh made my heart speed up, and I'd be surprised if he couldn't hear it.

"I'm curious now. What did she say?" he was still grinning widely.

"she said...that there's celebrities all over the place and something about Johnny Depp being my neighbour"

he laughed loudly, making a few students stare at us.

"either I haven't heard of certain A-Lister moving to Forks or he is not your neighbour"

"oh you haven't heard about him. He brought us cake once we'd moved in" I joked.

"oh your a barrel of laughs" he rolled his eyes in fake annoyance, but I could see his smirk.

"well here it is" he gestured towards the door we were now stood by. I admit I was a little sad to see our time together over.

"thanks a lot Edward" I smiled, and blushed at his penetrating gaze.

"my pleasure Bella. I'll see you later" he winked before he was off, on his way to his own class.

The rest of my morning went by slowly. I didn't see Edward again, and I hadn't met any one that really was as friendly as he was. For most of my classes so far I was either sat alone, or with the weird and/or smelly kid that no one else wanted to sit next to. It was great.

It was lunch now, according to my timetable, and I just followed the crowd towards the cafeteria. It was full and bursting with life as I walked in. I stalled slightly not really knowing what to do. I'd made a sandwich and a packed lunch this morning, so I knew I didn't need to join the line for hot food.

I scanned the room, and my eyes landed on an empty table in the corner. I made my way over to it and sat down. I pulled my Ipod out of my bag, and turned it on, hoping it would make me feel like less of an imbecile.

I pulled out the simple ham sandwich, and the box that contained an apple, and my daily milk bar. I was just tucking into my sandwich when I felt someone sit down next to me, their arm brushing mine.

I turned and was looking into those beautiful green eyes once again. I pulled my ear bud out.

"hi" I greeted him.

"hey, mind if we join?"

I shook my head 'no' "who's we?"

Just as I'd spoken, four other people sat down at my table. It was a squeeze and they were all staring at me like an animal at the zoo.

"Bella I'd like you to meet my little sister Alice, my twin brother Emmett, Alice's boyfriend Jasper Whitlock and Em's girlfriend Rosalie Hale" he gestured to each person as he said their name, I gave each of them a shy smile.

"and this is Bella" as he spoke his arm found it's way around my shoulders. It was only there for a few seconds before he removed it, and I disappointed that the contact didn't last longer.

"Bella, we've been waiting forever to meet you. I was hoping that you'd be in some of my classes but your not yet..." oh God, she's just like Daisy "...and maybe one day we could go shopping and to the movies..."

"Alice!" Edward yelled, interrupting her "Let the poor girl get a word in edgewise would you" he laughed "Sorry about her Bella. Just ignore her" he laughed at the small girls protests.

Alice was tiny little thing, her hair fell just short of her shoulders, and was jet black. Her eyes were the same green as her brothers, but hers were caked in make-up. Her boyfriend had shaggy blonde hair and was unnaturally skinny. But they seemed to fit together though.

Edward and Emmett were in no way identical. In fact had he not told me they were twins, I wouldn't have even thought they were related. Emmett was huge, with thick curly brown hair and blue eyes. His girlfriend looked as though she could be a super model. Long blond hair, her facial features were...well perfect, and her eyes were a violet colour.

"your right bro..." Emmett said, his eyes flicking between me and Edward. I turned to look at Edward and saw his eyes wide and his cheeks reddening. I turned back towards Emmett just as he said "...she _is_ hot as hell"

**a/n: so...how did you like it? **

**If there's any words you didn't know or understand please ask me.**

**Reviews really do mean everything to me, it's why I write so please please please review!**


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